No experince, but an idea

You could use it for a large engine rebuild facility, either under the railroads name or a private concern doing major engine rebuilding, such a Paduch, for one.

Bernd

They were very common at

Streetcar repair facilities.

Transfer table

Transfer tables were not used in servicing facilities.

They are normally used in heavy repair backshops, or locomotive or passenger car builders/rebuilders.

Transfer Tables and Repair Facilities

Quite true.  The Procor LP tank car repair facility uses a transfer table to move cars from cleaning to welding to painting.  It makes for a much more compact operation and has the advantage keeping the fire source (Welding etc.) separated from the flammable material (Paint) well separated.  They use a small diesel shunt to move the cars much like any other yard.

Some ideas ...

I have had a yearning to create an N scale transfer table (UK:traverser) for over a year and have been researching the subject. I have parts (essentially new) that I have salvaged from some unusable DVD drives as part of the movement mechanism - I have not yet formulated how they will be used.

In doing the research, I found a few interesting sources of information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transfer_table

The above article has a few pictures from which one might get an understanding of their use and deployment.

A club member of the Z0Cal (Z scale, Southern California) club has a module that was displayed as part of the modular railroad setup that Jeff Shultz showed a picture of at the X2011 Trains show in Sacramento. Here is a link to the pictures taken and the pics of interest are a little over half way down in his post:

[topic:id=5512]

Here is one of the pictures he posted:

Note how many doorways the table feeds

http://www.pacificelectric.org/pacific-electric/southern-district/shop-switcher-1503-at-torrance/

Some suggestions...

Dear Joe,

These might give some inspiration...

http://carendt.us/contest/vote/index.html

http://carendt.us/scrapbook/page30a/index.html

http://carendt.us/scrapbook/page73/index.html

Happy Modelling,
Aim to Improve,
Prof Klyzlr

Two different models

I recently had a gentleman who was looking for an HO transfer table in trade. I sent him some photos of one I had acquired from an estate sale, and reluctantly decided to not use on my new layout.  I got this reply....
 

I never realized there were 2 versions. Yes I see that later version has a full width bridge that covers up the wheels that run on the individual tracks, .....and some sort of control panel.

# 933-3131
https://www.walthers.com/transfer-table-kit-pit-measures-11-15-16-x-11-15-16-quot-lip-to-lip

# 933-2968
https://www.walthers.com/motorized-transfer-table-built-ups-assembled-14-7-16-x-15-1-16-quot-36-6-x-38-2cm
 

Kit vs assembled

Take a look at the real world

Most folk I've met downplay transfer tables, partly because they weren't that common (relatively) and part because of the real estate they'd take up on a layout.  That said, look at what survives in the real world for examples. Here are the coordinates of the ones I know of.

34.066539,-117.365217 Colton, CA (UP)
38.587156,-121.50115 Sacramento, CA (SP)
39.718158,-86.07640 Indianapolis, IN
46.416389,-105.838611 Miles City, MT
29.374622,-98.5491 San Antonio, TX

(edit)

I forgot

35.0754166,-106.6504135 Albuquerque, NM

Livingston Montana

Google Earth

Still shows the transfer table at North Fon du Lac, Wisconsin. Shop yards of the CN. When this was the Wisconsin Central, Shops was a very busy place but not nearly so since CN took over in 2001.

Also shows the transfer table at GE Transportation in Erie, Pa. It is my understanding the GE was going to eliminate this facility. But it still shows up.

Tom

Southern Pacific Shops, Sacramento, CA

Google clearly shows the transfer table at the old Southern Pacific Shops in Sacramento, California. I think they belong to the California State Railroad Museum, but welcome correction if that's wrong:

The Sacramento Traverser

Hi all,

snapped from the window of a passing train in 2013

Unfortunately I couldn't dodge the signal, and the deck was parked a fair way away. 

I may have other traverser photos from Australia. I can dig them out of there is any interest

Plate Girder Bridge

That's an interesting one,...using a more rigid plate girder bridge to avoid having multiple horizontal tracks and their associated wheels.

Link Problem?

How come I can't make this link and read that material??

Some more inspiration..

Hi Joe, all,

have a look at the following links for some more ideas

http://www.carendt.com/micro-layout-design-gallery/traversertransfer-table-lines/ 

http://www.carendt.com/micro-layout-design-gallery/traversertransfer-table-lines-2/

Here's one I planned - See RIP Track Yard 

http://www.carendt.com/small-layout-scrapbook/page-89a-september-2009/ 

Now if you modify this plan by re-purposing the two covered tracks with the 2 covered spots into open "ready storage"  tracks and extend the length of all tracks. Leave one or more tracks for an undercover light/heavy service shop area under an overhead crane and/or with a drop-pit. Add more tracks either out in the open or under the shop roof to suit. 

Supposedly the Walthers unit can handle 24 tracks - 12 each side of the table -  If  you define 1 track as an Arrival Road, and another as a Departure Road, define another some spots on another 2 tracks with bowsers and sand towers for "fuel and sand" only, that still leaves a lot of tracks available for either "Ready Storage" (fueled/sanded/ready to go) or for RIP track work like replacing brakeshoes/filter changes etc. 

For a large number of tracks and if your traverser table can only handle 1 locomotive at a time, then your traverser operator could be a very busy person "shuffling the deck chairs".   

Good Luck,

Non exsistent link

Here's probably why. It's been six years since that was posted.

[topic:id=5512]

Bernd

@Bernd - @railandsail

That node apparently no longer exists. It has somehow been lost or assigned a new node number.

The club that had that setup at X2011 is the ZoCal group and are on Facebook at:

https://www.facebook.com/ZoCalRR/

also on Yahoo groups:

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/ZoCal

Eight years ago I may have found who had that module that the transfer table was on, but it has been too long for me to remember who it was.

Minitrix N-scale option

Hi Bill,

Minitrix currently do one in N-scale  Part #66540. May be easier and less painful than scratchbuilding your own?

Z scale

I have trouble imaging N scale, but all that detail in Z scale.....WOW.

I never knew there was that many structures offered in Z scale !! ...that refinery in Z scale...unbelievable.

one can even use a capstan

one can even use a capstan wench (in model scale it would be the stand by 0-5-0 switcher) one on each end of the transfer table. so no "switcher" to get trapped in a building.

table for postage

Brian, do you still have the transfer table  you said someone could have for the cost of postage? I have a older table and the worm gear is worn out so thought I could use your for parts. 

Thanks, Dave

private message

@dave

Sent you a private message